Serve G-d in happiness; come into His presence with joyous song (Psalm 100:2)

Monday, July 11, 2016

Day #1 Without Facebook

Yes, you read that right. I am now 23 hours without checking my Facebook feed.

I'm doing an experiment - a week without Facebook. I have been on Facebook somewhere around 8 years. (Incredible, now that I'm thinking about it.) I didn't want to set myself up to fail, so I made it long enough to find out if removing it would make a difference in my life, but short enough to accomplish.

My laptop is always open on my dining room table. I'm always able to take a moment to check the feed. Then this week was too much. The news coming in - was just too much, too horrible... and Facebook was just amplifying the effect. I was getting into unnecessary arguments with acquaintances, and overall - there was too much negativity coming into my life.

This is not to say that you can't just post cute baby and kitten pictures and have a grand time, but for me I was finding that the negativity was effecting my life. So I've quit for the week and I'll re-evaluate next Sunday.

So what did I do today with my time? I started to do stuff I probably should have been doing with the time spent on Facebook. I started cleaning my house, starting in the living room, organizing my dozens of kids puzzles. My five year old daughter R thought it would be fun looking through our random boxes finding pieces - she did a pretty good job.

My three year son, Yo, is in the midst of toilet training. He's doing a decent job, it's only our second day of our second time trying... fun fun fun. But as it's said, no one walks to their chuppah in their diaper. We still have another month and a half before school starts, when he really has to stay dry - at least between the hours of 9am-1pm.

My two year old son, Y, spent his time pulling out the puzzles, counting to 10 and learning his alpha-bet with the five fridge magnets we haven't lost yet.

And while all this was going on, we had YouTube playing Rinat and YoYo in the background. I really recommend this show. It's an Israeli children's television show that is half in Hebrew, and half in English, perfect for working on your Hebrew language skills.

I also wanted to share that, G-d willing, in the right time, b'shaa tova, we'll be expecting our fourth child. We are beyond excited and so are the kids (so far!) Everything effects the baby in utero - you're supposed to be eating healthy foods, exercising and all that. But we can't forget the spiritual side of life either. Everything we do spiritually makes a difference too. Eating kosher, giving tzedukah and I would assume limiting negativity. I limit what my kids do and watch - and try to keep everything we do positive and learn about life through positive experiences (as best I can). Why subject myself and my baby to things I wouldn't let my three kids do or see? It doesn't make sense.

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Hello All! Let me introduce myself: My name is Shira, I'm happily married, grateful to have four little ones under seven years old and be a stay-at-home mom. I also have masters degrees in both education and political science and have spent at least 19 years in Jewish education (14+ in the classroom). Love to write and get feedback!